Overall Ratings & Reviews Elephant Rest Udawalawa

Such a lovely little place to stay for the night. Rooms were very clean and comfortable. The staff were so kind and lovely, the home cooked food was some of the best we’ve had in Sri Lanka. They also arranged a safari for us, we had a jeep to ourselves, and saw many animals (elephants, monkeys, mongoose). All in all a fabulous experience, and incredible value for money.

The hosts were very friendly, hospitable and organised safari trip. Room was spacious but there were many insects!

Warm hospitality and excellent Sri Lankan food in the Uda Walawe National Park

Good place to stay if you’re planning to go on safari. Value for money. Competitive safari prices offered by the host

My wife and I stayed at Elephant Rest Udawalawa for one night. The room was clean and comfortable and well put together. We had dinner and breakfast at the guesthouse and both were very tasty and generous portions. We were able to book our safari at the guesthouse and also our onward taxi to Mirissa. The service was friendly and efficient. Overall we were happy with our stay and we would recommend this guesthouse.

We had booked a 2 night stay due to the good reviews, and with the intention to go on the 'value for money' safari trip. Our taxi dropped us off midday, there was no one on reception to greet us. No water, tea, or refreshment of any kind. However, a maid told us we could go into our allocated room. This had not been prepared recently, as I found a dead lizard and dead flies in the bathroom. Apart from that the room and bed looked clean. We decided to cut our stay down to one night, do the safari that evening (which was great), then move to another hotel 10km away which was cheaper, lovely and clean, and had a swimming pool. Thank you to Hotels.com for sorting out a refund.

Stayed here for 1 night. Good location near the park.

I had an excellent stay at Elephant Rest. The Sri Lankan dinners that they cook were some of the best that I've had in the country. The wifi worked well for the entire stay. The showers had hot water. They have their own jeep for safari and give a really good rate.

Lovely place to stay near Udawalawe National Park! We drove in from Ella and the owners cooked a delicious fresh meal of rice and curry for us and later that night, made string hoppers for dinner. The room was very clean and spacious and the bed was comfortable. In the morning, they had arranged a safari, so we went out to the park at 6am. We are hungry first thing in the morning so they graciously made breakfast for us at 5:45 so we could eat before the safari. The family is so friendly and their little boy is adorable. Highly recommend staying here if you're coming to Udawalawe!

Owners are very nice. Hotel is basic but convenient. They have their own safari vehicle.

Stayed here as a base for Udawalawe National Park and it was perfect. The room is nice, the place is extremely close to the entrance to the park, dinner and breakfast made by the hosts was delicious, and the safari in their jeep was incredible (and very reasonably priced). They also helped us to arrange a taxi to our next destination the next day. Highly recommended

Convenient to wildlife park. Interesting experience living with local family, more a B & B than a hotel.

Wonderful place in a small village, amazing host with a charming family. The food was very good and the proximity to the park is a plus. You can easily organize safaris and transport from here.

great location, amazing dinner and breakfast after safari. room was a bit basic and not the cleanest, needed updating/lick of paint but location was great for early start at the safari and the owners were really helpful and friendly 😁

Very rural nothing in local area apart from Udawalawe national park but staff very helpful and made us very welcome and happy to cater for us Sri Lankan cuisine very tasty. Rooms clean. Scorpion in the shower a surprise but only tiny and part of the experience of being so rural

The couple that run this place are so friendly and helpful. Lovely people. The home cooked meal was the best Sri Lankan food we have had on the trip. The safari organised through the hotel is amazing and would recommend it. Please note that this hotel is not plush but it is comfortable and clean and quiet. Perfect for our night there to do the safari. The park is very closeby.

Our stay at Elephant Rest was a pleasure. Our host was very helpful in organising our Safari tour with a fantastic guide, our ride to the Elephant Transit Home as well as our transport to Tangalle. The highlight for us was the DELICIOUS home cooked curry our lovely hosts made for us. Hands down the best Sri Lankan meal that we have had on our trip, and up there with the tastiest I've ever had! What a gorgeous family, so very kind and welcoming. A true SL experience with all the comforts (AC, tv including cable and IPL!). Could not recommend this place more highly and most importantly, it was affordable and excellent value for money.

Amazing food and very helpful owner, we organised the safari and a taxi to our next destination via the hotel all at very reasonable rates. The hotel is clean and nice and the owners are extremyl friendly and welcoming. The food was excellent and it is really close to the National Park. The only issue is no wifi but didn't affect our stay.

Accueil au top, on est reçu avec un jus de fruit fraîchement fait, les chambres sont spacieuses, avec une petite terrasse et un salon de jardin en bois, 1 gel douche, 1 shampooing et 1 lotion lime/cinnamon dans la salle de bain, un espace détente avec un terrain de badminton, des échecs et une piscine très agréable, les repas sont préparés minutes et avec attention, prix très corrects. Emplacement idéal à - de 10' du parc. Des hôtes en or, une bouteille d'eau donnée quand je suis partie à 5h45 pour mon safari (ils peuvent vous l'organiser), à midi, Ils m'ont proposé le petit déjeuner si est inclus mais que je n'avais pas pris et le bus pour aller vers Tangalle passe devant chez eux, mais sur à un blocage, la dame m'a gentiment emmenée en scooter jusqu'à la station suivant et s'est assurée que je suis bien dans le bus. Des gens adorables. Allez-y les yeux fermés !

Perfekt för en övernattning om man ska på safari. Litet hotell där ägarna fixar allt, boende, vilken mat man vill, safari, frukostpaket, taxi. Det är bara att fråga, mannen som driver hotellet är otroligt hjälpsam och trevlig!